Faced with the rising costs having group dinners at King's Inn and the general hassle of trying to reserve, commit, and pre-order for their family style service, I would like to open discussion on other venues.

Tops on my suggestion list is Falfurrias...yes, the home of the fighting Jerseys. Land of sweet butter. Very central to folks from Corpus Christi AND the reaches of the Valley.

Stricklands is a fine little restaurant that I used to frequent when drilling wells in Starr Co. Falfurrias was a great stop to eat, gas up, and visit the famous curandero*. The little downtown and Brooks Co. courthouse are pretty neat. It's a little longer drive for CC people...shorter for some Valley folks. I have thought about it for years as a possible meeting spot for the Region.

What's good about Stricklands is that they have a 60+ person area for $40 security. They will do individual/couple/family/table checks plus gratuity. They have beer and you can bring your choice(s) of wine(s). Their food is reasonably priced and you order what you want from the main menu or special menu...very flexible. I would expect that each meal would be about $15 all in versus the $30/person that we'll have to charge at Kings Inn this year.

They had me at the individual checks.

There are other places in Falfurrias - not much better or seeming more accomodating.

That's a good discussion question for the Region's next meeting. Is there someone that is willing to coordinate this from the Valley? That person should contact me via my personal email: bissellr(at)swbell.net